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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. bark — to shout
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. field — a subject
  5. court — for sport
  6. court — of a king
  7. pound — a weight
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. field — farmland
  10. cue — for pool
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — a box
  13. bank — for money
  14. field — for sport
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. bank — of a river
  17. court — of law
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. chest — of your body
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. bore — to drill
  22. cue — a hint
  23. bank — for money
  24. cue — a signal

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com